Pyrophoric lighting mechanism



N o S N O R A V. L

PYROPHOR IC LIGHTING MECHANISM Filed May 19, 1954 llAronso M, @J7 1 Mai Lolli gz a 10a 9 7 7a Patented Mar. 15, 1938 UNrrE/o. STATES PATENT oFfFlcE f FYROM-Ionic LIGHTING MnoHANIsivl Louis v. Aronsongnewamiv. J. Application Mayio, 1934', serial No. '126,450

:solenne (or er1-'4.1) Y

My invention relates to automatic. flame-producing mechanism operable to ignite a charge of `fuel carried by a torch-forming member or the like. i

An important characteristic of. my invention `involves the provision of automatic mechanism which is actuatable for the purpose stated by a torch-forming member adapted to serve as the sole fuel casing for such mechanism.`

`lo Various other advantages, characteristics and features of my invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description.

lVfy invention resides in the pyrophoric lighting mechanism, combinations and. arrangements of l5 thecharacter hereinafter described and claimed.

For an understanding of my 'invention and for an illustration of one of the many forms thereof, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

,g Figure 1 is a perspectiva View showing a pyrophoric lighting mechanism as constructed and operated in accordance with my invention;`

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view partly in elevation, of the mechanism shown in Fig. A1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional View, partly in elevation, of my novel, mechanism with some of the parts. in different positions;

Fig. 4 is a transverse, vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, and is taken on the line mi) 1 -'Ll of Fig. 2 looking in the Ydirection of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a transverse, vertical sectionalv view, partly in elevation, and is taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view, partly in plan, of my novel mechanism.

Referring to the drawing, C represents a casing which may be` of any suitable .configuration 4,@ either rectangular as shown or otherwise as may be desirable. Soldered or .otherwise suitably secured to the casing C adjacent the bottom thereof is a skirt-like member I adapted to form a base for said casing C and the entire lighter mechat.; nism. Suitably secured to the casing C is a top wall 2 adapted to form a support for the hereinafter described mechanism. f

Adjacent one side of the casing C, a depending tubular member .3 is soldered or otherwise se- 50 cured to the lower surface of the casing top wall 2. At its lower end, the tubular member 3 has a sleeve 'li and a cap member 5 threaded thereto, said sleeve 4 vcarrying a laterally extending member 6 upon which a lever I is pivoted. vIn ac- `5 5 cordance with the invention, .the lever .'I should be' biased in a counter-clockwise direction, Figs. 2 and3, and, to this end, there may be utilized a `spring 8 .which Vis coiled around the member 6, one end of said spring being suitably xed to the sleeveV and the other end thereof being fixed in suitable manner-to a lateral section 1a of the i lever l.,

The upper end of the lever 1 is notched, as indicated at .'Ib, so as to coact with a lug 9 projectingfrom a member I0 fixed to or forming a 10 partof a tubular member I I slidable interiorly of the aforesaid tubular member 3, said member Ill being received, in freely slidable relation, in a vvertical Vslot 3a. formed in said tubular member 3. The member II is'biased upwardly by a helical l5 .spring I2 disposed within the lower end of the tubular member Z3, said spring I2 seating directly upon the cap member 5 or upon a member I3 disposed interiorly thereof.

Slidable interiorly of thetubular member II is a member I4 adapted for free slidable movement in an opening formed in the casing top wall 2. The member I4 comprises a depending shank Ida. which extendsin freely slidable relation, through an opening formed in the bottom surface of the tubularmember II, the shank Illa, below said lower surface, having a nut I5 threaded thereto. A helical spring I6, disposed within the tubular member II and around the shank |40., biases the member I4 in an upward direction, 30

, Secured to and movable with the member I4, at the upper end thereof, is a plate I1 to which is secureda depending member I8 freely slid- Iable in an opening formed in the top casing wall 2, said member I8 being adapted, in the manner hereinafter described, to actuate the lateral section 'la of the lever TI. Disposed on the plate II is a cap memberV I9 having a depending shank which is threaded to an interior surface defining al passage extending vaxially of the member I4: 40 Preferably,u the cap -member I9 comprises a depression I9a'uti1izable as hereinafter described.

The aforesaid member I Il comprises a section Ilia which extends beneath the top casing wall 2 and carries a laterally disposed member 20 upon 45 which a lever 2I is pivoted, said lever 2I extending upwardly through a passage 2a formed in the top casing wall 2,. The lever 2| should be biased in a clockwise direction, Figs. 2 and 3, and, to this end, there may be utilized a spring 22 50 which is coiled aroundithe member 20, one end of said spring being fixed to the section IIla of the member IU and the other end of said spring being `fixed to an `offset section 2Ia of the lever 2|.

As shownin Fig. 5, theptop casing wall 2 has `a 55 pair of spaced standards 23 upstanding vertically therefrom, these standards carrying a horizontal xed axle 24. Disposed for free rotatable movement on the axle 24 is a ratchet wheel 25 and its sleeve 25a which extends laterally therefrom. A serrated wheel 26 is fixed to the sleeve 25a and, therefore, the ratchet wheel 25 and the serrated wheel 26 are rotatable together as a unit. Coactable with the serrated wheel 26 is a pyrophoric element 21 which projects from the upper end of a tube 28 extending downwardly through the top casing wall 2 and the casing C. As well understood in the art, a helical spring, not shown, is disposed within the tube 28, the upper end thereof engaging the pyrophoric element 21 and the lower end thereof being held under compression by a cap 29 threaded into the lower end of said tube 28. In this manner, the pyrophoric element is properly biased into engagement with the serrated wheel 26.

As shown on the drawing, a spark-producing mechanism above described is disposed closely adjacent the cap member I9. This mechanism is so arranged that the sparks produced by counterclockwise movement of the serrated wheel 26, Figs. 2 and 3, are directed along a diverging path which extends above the cap member I9 when the latter is in or adjacent its lowermost position as shown in Fig. 3. Preferably, the spark-producing mechanism is enclosed by a cap structure 38 which is secured to the casing top wall 2 in any suitable manner, this cap structure being provided with a passage 30a through which sparks are adapted to pass along the path above noted.

As illustrated, the lever 2| is formed with a series of ratchet teeth which, under the influence of the spring 22, are held in engagement with the ratchet teeth formed on the periphery of the wheel 25. As the parts last described are shown on the drawing, the ratchet teeth on the lever 2| idle with respect to the ratchet teeth on the wheel 25 when the lever 2| is moved upwardly. However, due to the presence of the spring 22, the aforesaid sets of ratchet teeth are in clutching engagement when the lever 2| is moved downwardly.

The top casing wall 2, at one side of the cap structure 38, is provided with an opening which receives a tubular member 3| extending downward interiorly of the casing C, this tubular member being soldered or otherwise suitably secured to said top casing wall 2. As shown, said tubular member 3| terminates in a pair of depending members 3 la connected together at their lower ends by a ring-shaped member 32 to which is secured a member 33 shaped to form a chamber entirely closed, except at its upper end, and of generally circular configuration in horizontal section.

The tubular member 3| is adapted to receive, in readily detachable relation, a fuel casing F which, at its lower Wall surface, comprises a nozzle-like section 34 having a sleeve 35 extending therethrough and secured thereto in suitable manner. As shown, the sleeve 35 depends below the nozzle section 34 and is provided with one or more apertures 35a which expose a section or sections of a wick 36 disposed interiorly of the sleeve 35 and terminating within the fuel casing F, the sleeve 35 being headed at its lower end as indicated at 35h.

As illustrated, the top wall of the fuel casing F is provided with a threaded opening adapted to be closed by a closure cap 31 having a threaded shank adapted to be secured to said top wall.

With this closure cap removed, fuel of suitable character, such as high test gasoline, may be introduced interiorly of said fuel casing which should contain a mass of cotton 38 or similar material utilizable for absorbing the fuel. If desired, the shank of the closure cap 31 may form a hollow chamber adapted to be closed by a cap member 31a, such chamber being utilizable as a storage receptacle for spare pyrophoric elements corresponding with the element 21.

With the various parts related as shown in Fig. 2, it will be observed that the nozzle section 34, on its exterior surface, engages the upper interior surface of the chamber 33. These surfaces engage each other in close-tting relation whereby the chamber 33 is sealed from the atmosphere to thereby prevent escape of fuel from the fuel casing F. When said fuel casing F is thus positioned, it will be readily understood that the fuel contained therein is available at the lower end of the wick 36.

To operate the lighting mechanism, the fuel casing F is removed from the position shown in Fig. 2 and the head 35D of the wick tube 35 is disposed, in the manner indicated in Fig. 1, in the recess |911, of the cap member I9. While thus held in a vertical position, or approximately so, downward pressure is applied to the fuel casing F to thereby cause downward movement of the member 4 and, in response to such movement, the spring I6 is compressed. However, such compression of the spring 6 does not initially effect downward movement of the tubular member due to the fact that the notched section 1b of the lever 1 is in engagement with the lug 9. In response, however, to continued downward movement of the member I4, it results that the depending member |8 carried by the plate |1 eventually engages the lever section 1a of the lever 1 to thereby rock the latter in a clockwise direction, Figs. 2 and 3, and disengages the aforesaid notched lever section 1b from the lug 9.

When this happens, the restraining force delaying expansion of the spring I6 is removed and, accordingly, said spring I6 expands suddenly to move the reciprocatory member downwardly with a snapping action and permit descent of the member I4 to its lowermost position, the shank |4a and the nut |5 moving downwardly within the convolutions of the spring I2 during downward movement of said member I4. When the reciprocatory member thus moves downwardly Vwith a snapping action, the parts I0, |0a thereof and the lever 2| partake of similar movement. The latter, at this time, is in clutching engagement with the ratchet wheel 25 and, therefore, a step of rotative movement in a counterclockwise direction, Figs. 2 and 3, is imparted to said ratchet wheel 25 and to the serrated wheel 26. As described, the serrated wheel is engaged by the pyrophoric element 21' and, therefore, a shower of sparks is produced, these sparks passing along a path which extends toward and above the cap member I9. Inasmuch as the head 351; of the wick sleeve 35 is pressed downwardly against the cap member I9 at this time, it results that the exposed sections of the wick 36 are in the path of the pyrophoric sparks which ignite the fuel carried by said exposed wick sections.

The fuel casing F, then, becomes, in effect, a flaming torch and, as such, it may be used to perform any desired lighting operation. Such fuel casing contains a relatively large amount of fuel and hence the flame may be maintained at the wick end thereof for an indenite period. Ob-

viously, the fuel casing may readily and quickly be conveyed to any object to be ignited and, in so doing, it may be passed from hand to hand or to different persons in order to accomplish a plurality of lighting operations. After the flame thus produced has served its intended purpose, the fuel casing may be restored to the position shown in Fig. 2 and, in so doing, the flame at the Wick 36 is necessarily extinguished although, of course, such llame may be extinguished in suitable manner prior to reinsertion of the fuel oasing F in the member 3i.

The spring IG is heavy and the spring l2 is light. Therefore, when the spring I6 expanded, as described above, the spring l2 was placed under compression. When the fuel casing F is removed from the cap member i9, the spring l2 becomes effective to move the various members to their normal respective positions as shown in Fig. 2. When the member i8 recedes from the lever section la, counter-clockwise movement, Figs. 2 and 3, of the lever 'l occurs under the iniiuence of the spring 8 and, accordingly, the notched se'ction 'lb of the lever 1 becomes effective again to engage the lug 9, when the latter rises to sufficient extent, to thereby releasably lock the various parts in their proper respective positions for subsequent operation of the mechanism.

When the lever 2i moves upwardly under the control of the spring i2 as described above, said lever 2l pivots in a counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 2, and idles with respect to the ratchet wheel 25. Accordingly, during such upward movement of the lever 2 i, the ratchet wheel 25 and the serrated wheel 25 remain stationary, said serrated wheel at this time, of course, being engaged by the pyrophoric element 2l under the influence of its biasing spring.

While the invention has been described with respect to a certain particular preferred example which gives satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is `intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. In combination, a casing, pyrophoric sparkproducing means disposed above the top wall thereof, means for actuating said spark-producing means, said .actuating means comprising a tubular member depending from said top wall, a reciprocatory member slidable in said tubular member, clutch means operated by said reciprocatory member for actuating said spark-producing means, spring means disposed interiorly of said recipro'catory member for actuating the same, a member slidable interiorly of said reciprocatory member for compressing said spring means, a lever disengageably connected to said reciprocatory member for delaying operation of said spring means, and means controlled by said slidable member for disengaging said lever from said reciprocatory member.

2. In combination, a casing, pyrophoric sparkproducing means disposed above the top wall thereof, means for actuating said spark-producing means, said actuating means comprising a tubular member depending from said top wall, a reciprocatory member slidable in said tubular member, clutch means operated by said reciprocatory member for actuating said spark-producing means, spring means disposed interiorly of said reciprocatory member for actuating the same, a member slidable interiorly of said reciprocatory member for compressing said spring means, a lever disengageably connected to said reciproca.- tory member for delaying operation of said spring means, and means controlled by said slidable member for disengaging said lever from said reciprocatory member, said slidable member comprising an upper cap section adapted to receive the end of a torch-forming member carrying a charge of fuel.

3. In combination, a casing, pyrophoric sparkproducing means associated with said casing, a tubular member supported in approximately a Vertical position at one side of said spark-producing means, a sealing chamber adjacent the lower end of said tubular member, an elongated fuel casing disposed in said tubular member in readily detachable relation, a nozzle section adjacent the lower end of said fuel casing, said nozzle section being adapted to be disposed in sealing relation with respect to said sealing chamber, a wick sleeve projecting downwardly from said nozzle section so as to be disposed in said sealing chamber, said Wi'ck sleeve being provided with an aperture in the side wall thereof and terminating in a lower headed section, and a wick extending from said fuel casing into said Wick sleeve, a section of said wick being accessible through said aperture.

4. A pyrophoric lighter having a receptacle, a sparking wheel mounted upon the top thereof, a pyrophoric metal piece bearing against said wheel, a tubular member within said receptacle and depending from the top Wall thereof, means carried by said tubular member for operating said wheel and comprising a re'ciprocable actuating member, a first spring, mechanism mounted on said tubular member for connecting said spring and sparking wheel, a torch engageable with said actuating member to depress the latter upon application of manual pressure thereto and store energy in said spring, a latch carried by said tubular member and restraining operation of said spring, continued depression of said actuating member releasing said latch whereby said spring becomes effective to rotate said sparking wheel, and a second spring in which energy is stored by said first spring upon release of said latch, said second spring restoring the parts to normal position upon removal of said torch from said actuating member.

LOUIS V. ARONSON. 

